Entrants's Name: Kim Breas

Country: United States

Field: Economic Development

Innovation - idea: The Prosperity Project - the first ‘open source’ social enterprise - introduces the most socially positive and economically promising industry to emerge in decades - donation services. Based on the model DoughNation Services LLC has proven since 2002, the Prosperity Project allows those committed to 'doing well by doing good' to build and own outright their own donation services enterprises.

Innovation - why it is pioneering: In 2002, DoughNation became the first service in the nation to offer homeowners tax deduction documentation and delivery for donations of quality clothing and belongings. DoughNation has proven that customers like: 1) having an easy way to help their community; 2) DoughNation’s fees being tax-deductible; and 3) receiving deductions worth as much – and often more - than they paid for the service.

Strategy - how it achieves impact: The Prosperity Project aims at breaking the cycle of poverty, which requires three core elements:

1. Creating plentiful family-wage paying job opportunities, especially those that support family integrity by providing work-at-home, part-time and job sharing positions.

2. Providing the training and support needed for individual success.

3. Strengthening ties between business, schools and nonprofits to rebuild the community core.

The Prosperity Project adds to these three elements an important fourth: ownership of the enterprises built by the builders, creating greater motivation to participate.

Additionally, the Prosperity Project promotes the culture of ‘doing well by doing good’, advocating living-wages and flexible positions to accommodate single parent and caretaker schedules, and a policy preventing individuals with criminal records from access to customer information in order to allow opportunities for those rebuilding their lives after incarceration.

Strategy - growth plans: As an open source model, the Prosperity Project is open to anyone to take and build donation services enterprises - but the hope and preference is to channel it through social justice and economic development nonprofits so that the principles of 'doing well by doing good' can best be preserved.

Since turning the Prosperity Project into an open source model, efforts are ongoing to introduce the model to social justice and economic development nonprofits across the nation. Stories have appeared in the Oregonian and HappyNew.com, as well as Indymedia sites across the nation. http://www.doughnationservices.com/Oregoniansto ry.htm

http://www.happynews.com/news/7152006/The- Prosperity-Project-An-Open-Source-Social-Enterprise.htm

Impact to date: The time is right for the donation services industry to grow. On August 17, changes to charitable giving law included in the 2006 Pension Protection Act make the donation services industry more essential.

The HappyNews.com, Oregonian and Indymedia stories have brought attention from across the nation and – importantly - local inquiries from potential partners. Partners are crucial locally for me to build DoughNation and the other Prosperity Project enterprises into the solid businesses they can become. For over four years, I have been the sole proprietor of DoughNation. While I have proven the business model through repeat business and referrals, my personal strengths are ideas and I am not gifted in actually running a business. My expectation is that within one year of solidifying partnerships with capable business people who embrace the Prosperity Project vision, we will attract tremendous attention from every corner of the nation from those interested in replicating the model.

Future impact: Ten years from now the four new enterprises of the Prosperity Project will be a full-fledged nationwide industry employing many thousands in living-wage jobs. These are:

1. DoughNation: providing tax deduction documentation (including photographs and itemized lists) and delivery for donations of quality belongings.

2. Gentle Disposition: clearing the home through donation, recycle and disposal.

3. Full Circle Fundraising: leveraging the tax deduction benefits for donations into flexible programs that benefit every school and nonprofit.

4. The Community Partnership, strengthening the community core by introducing local businesses to schools and community organizations, helping generate revenue for them all.

Additionally, spin-off businesses involving repairing and reselling donations, including furniture and electronics repair, resale shops, online auctions, event planning, etc., will employ additional thousands across the nation.

Sustainability - resource base: Customers are the sole financial support for DoughNation. Strategic partnerships are forming in Portland, Oregon, and once DoughNation has grown sufficiently funding will be sought for the Prosperity Project through the many avenues available for proven social enterprises, including foundation funding and entry into social enterprise business plan competitions.

Major challenge for the field: DoughNation offers great social benefit and the unique advantage that customers gain back at least what they paid in their deductions. Nevertheless, simply because DoughNation is a new concept it is a struggle to introduce.

In addition to the considerable challenge of introducing a new concept, the second major obstacle has been my own personal lack of ability running and growing a business.

Contact Information:

Name: Ms Kim Breas - Founder
Mailing address: 1631 NE Broadway, #116
Country: United States
Email: doughnationservices@yahoo.com
Tel: 503.320.8213
Fax: 503.524.5747
Website: www.doughnationservices.com

Bio: After a diverse history including work as a massage therapist, electronic medical records implementation project manager, technical writer, and various other things, I found my calling as the founder of DoughNation and the donation services industry four years ago.

An out-of-the-box thinker always, I recognized after three years that I am incapable of running a business (“I shouldn’t even be trusted to run a stocking”, is my favorite way to put it). I also recognized I am on to something with the donation services industry; since I cannot build it I am working to put the model into the hands of those who can - with my hope that the spirit of ‘doing well by doing good’ will be honored more than not.

I believe the donation services industry is the most socially positive and economically promising industry to emerge in decades. I believe ‘doing well by doing good’ is the most needed ethic to put forward in our deeply corrupt times. Backing my words with actions, I made the Prosperity Project the first ever open source social enterprise.